freeride

Manages free AI models from OpenRouter for OpenClaw. Automatically ranks models by quality, configures fallbacks for rate-limit handling, and updates openclaw.json. Use when the user mentions free AI, OpenRouter, model switching, rate limits, or wants to reduce AI costs.

1,864 stars

Best use case

freeride is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.

Manages free AI models from OpenRouter for OpenClaw. Automatically ranks models by quality, configures fallbacks for rate-limit handling, and updates openclaw.json. Use when the user mentions free AI, OpenRouter, model switching, rate limits, or wants to reduce AI costs.

Teams using freeride should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.

When to use this skill

  • You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.

When not to use this skill

  • You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
  • You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.

Installation

Claude Code / Cursor / Codex

$curl -o ~/.claude/skills/free-ride/SKILL.md --create-dirs "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills/main/skills/free-ride/SKILL.md"

Manual Installation

  1. Download SKILL.md from GitHub
  2. Place it in .claude/skills/free-ride/SKILL.md inside your project
  3. Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill

How freeride Compares

Feature / AgentfreerideStandard Approach
Platform SupportNot specifiedLimited / Varies
Context Awareness High Baseline
Installation ComplexityUnknownN/A

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this skill do?

Manages free AI models from OpenRouter for OpenClaw. Automatically ranks models by quality, configures fallbacks for rate-limit handling, and updates openclaw.json. Use when the user mentions free AI, OpenRouter, model switching, rate limits, or wants to reduce AI costs.

Where can I find the source code?

You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.

SKILL.md Source

# FreeRide - Free AI for OpenClaw

## What This Skill Does

Configures OpenClaw to use **free** AI models from OpenRouter. Sets the best free model as primary, adds ranked fallbacks so rate limits don't interrupt the user, and preserves existing config.

## Prerequisites

Before running any FreeRide command, ensure:

1. **OPENROUTER_API_KEY is set.** Check with `echo $OPENROUTER_API_KEY`. If empty, the user must get a free key at https://openrouter.ai/keys and set it:
   ```bash
   export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..."
   # Or persist it:
   openclaw config set env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY "sk-or-v1-..."
   ```

2. **The `freeride` CLI is installed.** Check with `which freeride`. If not found:
   ```bash
   cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride
   pip install -e .
   ```

## Primary Workflow

When the user wants free AI, run these steps in order:

```bash
# Step 1: Configure best free model + fallbacks
freeride auto

# Step 2: Restart gateway so OpenClaw picks up the changes
openclaw gateway restart
```

That's it. The user now has free AI with automatic fallback switching.

Verify by telling the user to send `/status` to check the active model.

## Commands Reference

| Command | When to use it |
|---------|----------------|
| `freeride auto` | User wants free AI set up (most common) |
| `freeride auto -f` | User wants fallbacks but wants to keep their current primary model |
| `freeride auto -c 10` | User wants more fallbacks (default is 5) |
| `freeride list` | User wants to see available free models |
| `freeride list -n 30` | User wants to see all free models |
| `freeride switch <model>` | User wants a specific model (e.g. `freeride switch qwen3-coder`) |
| `freeride switch <model> -f` | Add specific model as fallback only |
| `freeride status` | Check current FreeRide configuration |
| `freeride fallbacks` | Update only the fallback models |
| `freeride refresh` | Force refresh the cached model list |

**After any command that changes config, always run `openclaw gateway restart`.**

## What It Writes to Config

FreeRide updates only these keys in `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`:

- `agents.defaults.model.primary` — e.g. `openrouter/qwen/qwen3-coder:free`
- `agents.defaults.model.fallbacks` — e.g. `["openrouter/free", "nvidia/nemotron:free", ...]`
- `agents.defaults.models` — allowlist so `/model` command shows the free models

Everything else (gateway, channels, plugins, env, customInstructions, named agents) is preserved.

The first fallback is always `openrouter/free` — OpenRouter's smart router that auto-picks the best available model based on the request.

## Watcher (Optional)

For auto-rotation when rate limited, the user can run:

```bash
freeride-watcher --daemon    # Continuous monitoring
freeride-watcher --rotate    # Force rotate now
freeride-watcher --status    # Check rotation history
```

## Troubleshooting

| Problem | Fix |
|---------|-----|
| `freeride: command not found` | `cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/free-ride && pip install -e .` |
| `OPENROUTER_API_KEY not set` | User needs a key from https://openrouter.ai/keys |
| Changes not taking effect | `openclaw gateway restart` then `/new` for fresh session |
| Agent shows 0 tokens | Check `freeride status` — primary should be `openrouter/<provider>/<model>:free` |

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